Electric flat-iron.



W. I. KEEP.

ELEcRlc FLAT IRON.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29. I9I5.

1,155,423. Patented Oat. 5, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. J. KEEP.

ELECTRIC FLAT IRON. APPLICATION' man 11111.29. 1915.

Patented 001. 5, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

q/vhwooan W. l. KEEP.

ELECTRIC FLAT IRON.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.29.1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

E11/tomato@ WCHN (Keep,

toznmq Patented Ot. 5, 1915.

WW1/weno f sTATEs PATENT oEEicE- WILLIAM J., KEEP, 0E ISETECIT, MICHIGAN, AssIGNoP. To THEMICHICAN sTovE COMPANY, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

ELECTRIC FLAT-IRON.

and State-of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric F lat-Irons, of which the following is a speciiication, reference being had therein to the accompanying. drawings.

This invention relates to electric flat irons of that type disclosed by the patents to Charles P. Madsen, No. 1093791, granted April 21, 1914, and No. 1099988, granted June 16, 1914.

Amgng the'isalient features of this invention niay be mentioned three styles of terminal clamps and housings which permit of easy access being had to the terminals; a

novel iron body or housing for a heating unit which is constructed to be easily and correctly installed; a novel cord exit that/ prevents wear at the point of connection toi the iron; a rear stand that coperates with the cord exit in supporting the iron on end; a handle practically'free of heat radiation and. consequently cold; a switch. conveniently located for controlling electric circuits `of the iron, and a guard plate that permits of easy access being had to electric conductors-and other parts of the iron. f

A flat iron characterized by the above devicespossesses many advantages, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same residing in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter de! scribed and claimed.

@The essential features of the invention,

.involvedin carrying out the above, are necessarily susceptible to a wide'range of struc- ,tural modification without departing from thelspirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, but a practical emfb'odiment thereof is suggested in the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of an electric fiat iron in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the upper housing'or section of the iron body; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of the upper housing or section; Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a detached spider and handle bail carried the/reby; Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the detached terminal housing; Fig. 6 is a cross vsectional View taken on the line V-VI of Specification ofdLetters Patent.

Patented oca 5, 1915.

Application led January 29, 1915. Serial No. 4,977.

Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of a modified form of terminal housing; Fig. 8` is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; Fig. is an elevation of a further modified formbf terminal housing; Fig. 10 is an end View of the same; Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the fiat iron, on a small scale, illustrating the iron on end; Fig. 12 is a similar View of a simplified iron; Fig. 13 is a longi-l tudinal sectional view illustrating a modified iron body or terminal housing provided with a heating unit; Fig. 1.4 is a plan of the same; Fig. 15 is a cross sectional view taken on the line )iV-XV of Fig. 13; and Fig. 16 is a cross sectional View taken on the line XVI-XVI of Fig. 2. E

1n the drawings, 1 denotes a lower housing having a polished surface 2 and a chambered or cut away peripheral edge providing a seat 3 for the walls 4 of an upper housing 5, the housings 1 and 5 constituting the body of the flat iron. With the walls 4 upon the seat 3 the housings are spaced and provide clearance for a heating unit which is insulated relative to the body of the iron.

The insulation consists of two sheets of mica '6 and 7 and for the convenience of handling the mica sheet 6, the sheet is riveted or otherwise connected to a thin metallic plate 8 and this metallic/plate is placed upon the housing 1 with the mica sheet uppermost. The mica sheet 7 is connected to a metallic plate 9 by eyelets 10 and these eyelets are also employed for retaining heating elements against the sheet of mica 7. The heating elements are inthe form of flat strips of As constructed,` the heating unit is a bench assembled proposition and this is also true in connection with the metallic plate 8 and the sheet of mica 6, although in some instances these two may not be connected together, but with the heating elements-the loo recess 14 and the bottom of said recess has v openings 15 alining with openings 16 in the heating unit and sockets 17 in the housing 1 said sockets having the walls thereof screw- 10 threaded to receive screws 18 employed for holding the housing 5 upon the housing 1. The screws 18`have large elongated hexagonal heads 19 and the openings 16 of the heating unit are of suiiicient size to provide l5 clearance for the screws 18.

Oppositely disposed walls of the recess 14 are provided with bosses 20 and bearings or seats 21, the latter accommodating the legs 22 of a spider 23 retained in a horizontal 20 position by screws 24 entering the bosses 20.

The spider 23 has large openings 25 providing clearance for the heads 19 of the screws 18 and besides these openings there is a central opening 26, the purpose of which will 25 hereinafter appear. With simply the legs 22 of the spider supporting the same there is an air gap between the spider and the walls of theV recess 14 and this air gap is essential in order to maintain the spider 0 and parts carried thereby as cool as possible during the use ofthe iron. f v.

Riveted or otherwise connected to the ends of the spider 23 are handle supports 27 and 28 and the handle support 27 terminates in 5 an apertured, bearing 29. Adjacent to the bearing 29 is a switch socket 30 provided with a switch housing 31 somewhat after the type of switch disclosed by the Madsen Patent No. 1,099,988. The switch housing has push buttons for controllingthe electric circuit of the iron and suitable designations,

as off and on.

The support 28 terminates in an apertured bearing 32 which cooperate with the bearing `29 in supporting a handle 33. The handle 33 is reta-ined upon the bearings 29 and 32 by an axial tie rod 34 extending through the bearings 29.and 32. The supports 28 serve of a terminal housing 35. The housing 35 is held in engagement with the support 28 by screws 36 entering"bosses 37 forming part of the support 28, and the upper 'end of the housing 35 coperates with the upper end of the support 28 in providing a flared mouth piece or a bell shaped exit 37 that Ireceives a coiled Wire protector 38 of an insulated conductor cord 39. This cord is o6 of the ordinary and well known type emi 6o ports 28 are sets of lugs 41 serving as functionally as a stationary member or back ployed for supplying electricity to the iron spacers for insulated conductors -42 and lare held in frictional contact with the bared ends of the conductors 42 and 43 by a novel clamp in the housing 35. The sidewalls of the housing 35 are recessed to provide ledges 47 and extending into the recesses of the housing are the ends of a transverse metallic bar 48 which is placed in position by first placing one end of a bar in a recess and then the opposite end. Engaging the outer side of the metallic bar 48 is a strip of insulation 49, as mica, and this strip is placed in position by irst placing one end thereof behind the ledge 47 and then bending the strip in order that theropposite end can be placed behind the other ledge. lVhen released the strip assnlnes a position against the metallic bar 48 and is in position to engage the bared ends 46 of the cord conductors.

Engaging the inner sides of the metallic bar 48 is a screw 50 and it is through the medium of this screw that pressure is brought to bear against the bar 48 independent of thevscrews 36 which attach the housing to the support 28. By adjusting the screw 50, the bared ends 46 of the cord conductors are firmly clamped against the bared ends of the conductors 42 and 43, and in consequence of the terminal pressure there is a perfect contact between the conductors. Since the clalnp forms part of the housing 35, it is an extremely eas)T matter to remove the screws 36 and the housing 35 when it is desired to remove the cord 39, but since the cord and its coiled wire protector can freely shift in the flared mouth piece or bell shaped exit 37, it is hardly ever necessary to remove the cord. The bell shaped exit prevents sharp bending of the cord and consequently the longevity of the same is materially increased.

-The conductor 42 extends lengthwise of the spider 23 and is connected to the switch socket 30, as at 51 and another conductor 52 is connected to the s"'itch socket, as at 53a. This last mentioned conductor extends through the central opening 26 of the spider 23 in proximity to the end of the conductor izo 43, and the ends of both conductors are ductors relative to the large openings 54, thereby precluding any possibility of the conductors contacting with the metallic plate 9. The bared ends 53 of the conductors are laterally and oppositely disposed to positively contact with the ends of theI heating elements composing the heating unit, as best shown in Fig. 3.

The principle of applying pressure to the bared ends of the conductors, as disclosed in connection with the housing 35, is also applied to the bared ends 53 of the conductors 43 and 52. This is accomplished by placing pressure screws 56 in the housing 5, at the rearl end of the recess 14 and directly above the rear ends of the heating elements, whereby when said screws are adjusted pressure is brought to bear upon the metallic plates 9 to clamp the rear, ends of the heating elements upon the bared ends 53 of the conductors. a

Mounted over the lspider 23 is a sheet metal guard' plate 57 lthat is spaced from the housing 5 and consequently provides an exit for heat. One end of the guard plate 57 .extends under a transverse lip 58 of the supportv28 and the opposite end thereof terminates in a gooseneck 59 held between the bearing 29 and the end of the handle 33. The guard plate 57, is in the form of a hood or canopy that prevents radiation of 'heat tdward the handle 33 of the iron and such hot air as escaped by the air gap at the marginal edges of the recess 14 is defiected downwardly and away from those elements supporting the handle 33. The guard plate 5 7 covers the conductors 42 and 52. and finishes off the exterior appearance of the iron. l

Connected to the rear 4end of the housing 5 by screws 60 or other fastening means are the end flanges of a projection 61 and this projection is adapted to coperate with the flared mouth piece or bell 'shaped eXit of the housing 35 in supporting the iron on end, wherebythe polished surface 2 of the iron is maintained out of engagement with a table or ironing board, thereby obviating the necessity of using an iron rest or temporarily turning ofl" the current.

Before further considering the iron just l described, it isthought best to refer to `a few modifications, and reference will first be had to Figs.,12I and l5 inclusive. The

iron body shown in these views is composed.

of two housings 62 and 63 connected by screw bolts 64 and the housing 62 is adapted to be inclosed by a suitable cover 63a. The recess 14, spider 23, switch 31 and projection 61 are dispensed with, thus simplifying the iron, and conductors can be arranged over the iron body for a heating unit 65, similar to the unit previously described. This heating unit can be clamped between the housings 62 and 63, and the views illusr and a nut 81.

trating this modification clearly show pressure screws 66n for the heating element and thev manner in which the bared ends of conductors are held in engagement with the elements.

A further modified form of terminal housing is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, wherein 66 denotes a housing having a wall 67. The housing 66 is in the form of a yoke suitably connected to the wall and said wall is provided with openings 68. Countersunk in the wall 67 at the ends of the openings 68 are washers of insulation 69, preferably made of mica, and concentrically of said washers and out of engagement with the wall 67 `are screws 70 retained in engagement with the Washers by nuts 71. The threaded ends of the screws 70 extend into metallic sleeves 72 and interposed between the ends of said sleeves and the nuts 71 are the eye ends 73 of terminals or conductors 74. The'opposite ends of the sleeves 72 are engaged by a sheet of insulation 75, as mica, held against the ends of the sleeves by a bar or plate 76 engaged by a tension or pressure screw 77 adjustable in the housing 66. The walls of Vthe sleeves 72 are of sufiicient'thickness toI being brought to bear to firmly hold the terminals and insure a positive contact and it is possible to adjust the screws 77 from time to time to` insure a perfect electrical connection. p

A very simple form of terminal housing, has been shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The housing in this instance, comprises members 78 and 79 connected by a screw bolt 80 The members 78 and 79 have abutting ends 82 and the opposite ends of said members are faced with pieces of insulation 83, as mica, between which are clamped the bared ends 84- of conductors. By adjusting the nut 81 sufficient pressure can be brought to bear upon the bared ends of the conductors or terminals to crush the same 'and provides a positive connection between the terminals.

The terminal clamps disclosed by all the housings can be used for terminals of other heating devices than electric flat irons.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the bodyof the iron is composed of a housing and considering the heating elements as electric conductors, that the housing contains the ends of electric conductors that -are held in positive contact either by the means connecting` the sections of the housing together, or by such means as the pressure screws 56. In all instances two members are employed to form a ,housing and the manner in which the members are assembled permits of easy access being had to the terminals held between the members. This is particularly true in connection with the iron body, as by removing the guard plate 57 and the screws 18, 'the housing 5 can be bodily removed from the housing 1 and the heating unit repaired or. renewed should occasion require. Considerable im portance is attached to the flared mouth piece for bell shaped exit of the support 2 and housing 35, as with the iron on end the upper end of the support 28provides sufficient clearance for the cord 39 without any danger of the cord being sharply bent or injured. Furthermore, the novel manner in which the overlapped terminals are sandwiched between plates of insulation backed by substantial bodies is also a feature of the invention, as it is practically impossible for short circuits to occur or conductors become disarranged during the use of the iron.

lVhat I claim is 1. An electric fiat iron comprising housings. a heating unit clamped between said housings` a spider in one of said housings providing an air gap, handle supports carried by said spider, a housing connected to one of said handle supports, a conductor cord extending into said housing in` circuit with said heating unit and a switch `carried by the other support and in circuit with said heating unit and said conductor cord I'orcontrolling the operation of said iron.

2. An electric heating device, comprising a fiat insulation plate, a winding thereon, insulated lead in wires having bared endssuperimposed upon the ends of said winding, a fiat plate of insulation superimposed upon said winding, a flat metallic plate superimposed upon said insulating plate, housings above and below the assembled plates adapted to clamp said plates together except at a spot over the contact points at the ends of said winding and the bared ends of said lead in wires, and a pressure screw adjustable in the upper housing and operable from with` out the 'device to force together the bared ends of saidwires and the ends of said'lwind# ing between the core of the winding and the superimposed plate vof insulation.

3. An electrlcal fiat iron comprising housings, a laminated heating unit compressed between said housings, insulated terminals passing through holes in'the upperwhousing,

`one bared end o f one of said terminals lying upon the end windings of said unit between laminations thereof, andmeans, otherl than the connecting means which unite saigghousings, for clamping together the bard''ends of. the insulated terminals, and the end windings of said unit. Y

l4. In an electric fiat iron, a heating unit,

l a flat plate of insulation on each side thereof, an insulated terminal having bared ends placed between the plates of insulation and bared resistance of the heating'unit, means operable from outside the iron for clamp- Aing the bared surfaces together beneath the per sheet of insulation to prevent injury to the insulation plate. 4

5. In an electric flat iron having a heating unit made by winding resistance wires on a flat insulating core, insulated lead in wires with .bared ends superimposed on the last coils of the winding, asheet of resistance superimposed on both o'f these and having a hole properly formed in the upper sheet through which the lead in wires pass and fit closely to prevent displacement of the contacts.

6. An electric, fiat iron of which the top cover and the working bottom are housings between which a heating unit is clamped, the top housing having a recess in its upper surface, a detachable spider over said recess, said spider having ends rising as a bail, a handle carried by the bail of said spider, `a switch at an end of said bail, and terminal wires rising from the heating unit at the rear of the housing and passing through and over said recess to said switch.

7. In an electric flatiron, a working bottom, a top cover, a heating element compressed lbetween said working bottom and top cover, said top cover having a recess in the top thereof, a. spider spanning the recess of said top cover, handle supports rising from the ends of said spider, and a stationary housing on the rear handle support adapted to connect said heating element to a heater cord, said housing having a flared" 4exit adapted to prevent Ibreakage of the sulation to clamp the bared ends of said conductors together.l

9. In a terminal connection for electric fiat irons, a housing having open ends and one of the ends thereof liared, conductors extending into said housing and having theends thereof bared, sheets of insulation in 129 said -housing between which the 'bared ends of sald conductors extend,'means 1n said lhousing for positioning the bared ends of said conductors whereby the ends of conductors overlap, and means carried by said housing to bring pressure to bear upon one of -said sheets of insulation whereby the bared ends ofsaid conductors are clamped together.

`10. A terminal connection for an electric 13 flat iron having a heating unit, comprising a .rear handle support composed of half housings clamped together and having top and bottom openings, the top opening admitting a heater cord to said housing and the bottom opening admitting insulated terminals of the heating unit Vof an iron, the

cord and insulated terminals having bared 'in its upper surface a recess open at the top and no other openings for air circulation, a splder carrylngat lts ends handle supports and secured at its sides to the recess Walls,

and a guard plate suspended from the han-v dle supports of said spider and free of said cover. v

12. In an electric iron, a cover for said iron, handle supports indirectly carried by the cover of the lron, the rear support being composed of housings adapted for the bared ends of lead in connections, a guard plate carried by the handle support independent of said cover.

13. In an electric iron, a cover for said iron, handle supports indirectly carried by the cover of the iron, the rea-r support being composed of housings adapted for the bared ends of lead in connections, a guard plate carried by the handle support independent of said cover, and a switch on thc front handle support.

14. In an electric iron, a cover, a bottom plate,`a heating 'element clamped between said cover and said plate, a handle supported bysaid cover, a switch on the front handle support, and a guard plate supported by the. handle supports and forming With said cover a conduit for Wires to and from said switch.

l5. In an electric flat iron, a clamping device for lead in Wires, said device having a recess therein, a clamping plate shorter than the recess and slidable therein, and a sheet of insulation sprung into the recess of said device adapted to hold said clamping plate therein.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM J. KEEP.

Witnesses F. J. HIGGINS, C. J. FRUDEL. 

